A 20-year-old who died during air conditioning installation work in extreme heat, bereaved family protests the labor authorities' decision of 'no charges'
The labor authorities have decided not to charge the principal and subcontractor representatives related to the case of a 20-year-old worker who died while installing air conditioners in extreme heat at a middle school in Jangseong, Jeollanam-do.
On the 30th, the Gwangju Regional Employment and Labor Agency announced that it had sent a recommendation for no charges against the principal and subcontractor representatives who were under investigation for violations of the Industrial Safety and Health Act and the Serious Accidents Punishment Act since last month’s 13th.
The labor authorities reportedly made this decision, stating that there was an unclear direct causal relationship regarding the death of the deceased air conditioning technician, A (27), within the scope defined by the Serious Accidents Punishment Act.
A died after collapsing while complaining of dizziness during air conditioning installation work at a school cafeteria in Jangseong, Jeollanam-do, around 4:40 p.m. on the 13th.
On the day of the incident, A was identified as having collapsed outside in the flower bed after doing auxiliary work indoors, where the air conditioning was not functioning, from 1:40 p.m. after lunch.
The company sent a photo of A lying in the flower bed around 5:09 p.m. to the family, along with a message saying, "Take him away."
A lost consciousness around 5:10 p.m., but the company only reported to the emergency services at around 5:30 p.m., approximately 20 minutes later.
When emergency responders arrived, A's body temperature was too high to measure due to the heat, and the temperature measured after death was over 40 degrees Celsius.
Park Young-min, the labor attorney representing the bereaved family, sharply criticized the labor agency for judging that the deceased had escaped without permission in a state of confusion and shifted the cause of death to a personal issue rather than heat stroke. "The explanation that it was due to a mental disorder is something the bereaved family simply cannot accept," he emphasized.
He also pointed out, "Looking at the incident photos, he collapsed in a flower bed without any shade," and criticized the company for only texting A's mother three times, stating that they missed the 'golden time' and that "the evaluation that 'post-incident measures were sufficient' is also problematic."
The bereaved family of A plans to hold a press conference urging an investigation into the facts in front of the Gwangju Regional Labor Agency at 11 a.m. on July 1st, together with local labor organizations.
Image source: The mother of technician A (27), who died from heat illness while working on air conditioning installation in extreme heat, is seen weeping while looking at a portrait at the memorial for Yang in front of the Gwangju Regional Employment and Labor Agency in Buk-gu, Gwangju. / News1, data photo for understanding the article / gettyimagesbank
